Long Lake near Alpena: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Long Lake is one of the Presque Isle County listings for Michigan. This is lake country bush country. Around 8.3 sq miles of open water: conditions change from one end to the other. The outline measures near 23 miles, so a boat opens up water the bank never reaches. It is among the larger waters listed here for Presque Isle County. For a base, Alpena sits 10 miles out. Rogers City lies 22 miles off, Hubbard Lake another 31 miles. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Long Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Presque Isle County, recorded fish include rainbow smelt, alewife, bloater and lake whitefish. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Long Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 18°F to 67°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at mid December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. At Long Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Fitzgerald Lake is 1.7 miles off. The position on Long Lake is worth confirming on the day.